The Athlete’s Edge: Taking Performance to the Next Level

Traditionally, sports performance training, injury care and recovery for athletes have been provided by coaches, doctors and physical therapists. Collectively, they have done their best in getting athletes prepared to compete again and back in the game after injuries. Nowadays with the highly competitive nature of sports, even at the younger age levels, it has become necessary to “step up” the quality and type of training, injury care and recovery support to the next level to keep athletes “in the game.” Sports performance training, such as is provided by Velocity Sports Performance, has taken athletic training to that point by providing professional and Olympic-level training to athletes of all ages and abilities. Velocity provides training in the fundamentals of sports, including speed, explosive power, flexibility, stability and agility, which previously weren’t received by athletes until they played at higher levels such as major college, Olympic or professional sports. Contrary to what we have often heard, speed can be taught, especially in younger athletes because their bodies are still developing. Velocity helps these athletes to maximize their athletic ability. In light of today’s highly competitive sports environment and the fact that most coaches have little training in these areas, this type of training can help give young athlete that “edge” to keep them playing competitively longer. Thankfully, in the world of injury care and recovery there has been a huge breakthrough, as well. If an athlete is on the sideline, someone will be there to replace them and they may have a hard time getting their spot back. This breakthrough is called Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) therapy. MAT® is the missing link to all forms of therapy and exercise. It is a technique designed not only to help athletes recover from injuries quickly, but also to prevent injuries from happening in the first place. MAT® prepares the body to be more efficient in training and athletic performance. In order to reach optimal performance capabilities, an athlete is forced to train at a high level of intensity. Because of this, there is always the potential for injury. Some athletes may be predisposed to an injury, due to them having muscular imbalances that place increased stress on their joints and tissues. These athletes can be an injury waiting to happen. When they train at a high level, the imbalances are magnified and the body can no longer handle the stress. It eventually breaks down. It’s like driving a car with bad alignment. The faster you drive it, the faster the tires are going to wear out. The body functions the same way. If an athlete has muscular imbalances, the abnormal alignment results in increased stress on the joints and muscles.

The goal of MAT® is to correct the problem before an injury occurs. An injury is just a “symptom” with a deeper issue. The symptom is not the problem. It is the result of the over stressing of an area of the body, due to muscular imbalances. Conventional therapy will typically treat the symptom. This means that the cause of the injury is not being addressed. The end result is that the athlete does not heal or they go on to experience a more severe injury. MAT® not only helps to prevent injuries, but it can also speed up the rehabilitation process. By balancing the muscular system, MAT® provides an improved environment for healing. This allows the athlete to return to participation faster. The end result is improved athletic capabilities. The benefit of MAT® is that the changes can be immediate. A professional baseball pitcher increased his throwing velocity by 10 miles per hour immediately following an MAT® session. This was due to improved mechanics combined with pain free motion. Current MAT® clients include the Denver Broncos and Denver Nuggets teams. MAT® and Velocity are working together to change the way athletes perform and therefore
have co-located near Centennial Airport. For further information on the MAT
Physical Therapy clinic, please call (303) 925-0101 or visit their website at
www.muscleactivation.com. For more on Velocity Sports Performance call 303-768-8988.